The present invention relates to multiple-product merchandising machines and more particularly to variable doorstops for selectively determining the opening distance of an access door for such merchandising machines.
Multiple-product merchandising machines dispense many different kinds and sizes of products. For this purpose, the merchandising machines have compartments of different or variable widths to accommodate the different sized products thereby maximizing the amount of product offered by the machine. Such a machine is illustrated and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,051, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Provision must be made for limiting the width which an access door of the merchandising machine can be opened so that it corresponds to the width of the compartment. If the access door could be opened beyond the width of the compartment, merchandise from adjacent compartments could be removed. It is usual to set all partitions on a given shelf of the merchandising machine for the same width of compartment since they must all be accessed by the same door.
In prior multiple-product merchandising machine designs, such as that disclosed in the aforementioned patent, a stop member is securely fixed at a location along a strip mounted on the inside of the service door to limit the opening distance of the access door. The access door is stopped in its opening movement by coming into engagement with the edge of the stop member as the door is slid from its closed position to its open position. Threaded holes are preselected along the strip to determine several locations for the stop member and thus define several opening distances for the access door corresponding to several standard size compartment widths. The stop member is fastened to the strip by bolting the member to the strip. In order to adjust the opening distance of the access door, the stop member is unscrewed from the strip and refastened at another position on the strip. Although generally satisfactory, the procedure to adjust the opening width of the access door is time-consuming and requires the serviceman to carry tools along when reloading the merchandising machine.